The study examines materials relating to decisions concerning hospital mergers, consolidations, conversions, and closures of services or institutions to determine what legal issues have emerged that should be anticipated in future activities relating to such decisions by hospitals. The study analyzes these issues from the perspective of how they were handled, if at all, and makes recommendations for their identification and handling in the future. Types of issues specifically addressed relate to fiduciary responsibilities of trustees, institutional constraints impeding mergers, etc., and the legal authority of regulatory agencies.